U.S. patent number 9,492,507 [Application Number 13/638,786] was granted by the patent office on 2016-11-15 for insulin conjugate using an immunoglobulin fragment.
This patent grant is currently assigned to HANMI SCIENCE CO., LTD.. The grantee listed for this patent is Sung Min Bae, Dae Seong Im, Se Chang Kwon, Young Jin Park, Jae Hee Shin, Dae Hae Song. Invention is credited to Sung Min Bae, Dae Seong Im, Se Chang Kwon, Young Jin Park, Jae Hee Shin, Dae Hae Song.
United States Patent |
9,492,507 |
Song , et al. |
November 15, 2016 |
Insulin conjugate using an immunoglobulin fragment
Abstract
The present invention relates to an insulin conjugate having
improved in vivo duration and stability, which is prepared by
covalently linking insulin with an immunoglobulin Fc region via a
non-peptidyl polymer, a long-acting formulation comprising the
same, and a preparation method thereof. The insulin conjugate of
the present invention maintains in vivo activity of the peptide at
a relatively high level and remarkably increases the serum
half-life thereof, thereby greatly improving drug compliance upon
insulin treatment.
Inventors: |
Song; Dae Hae (Hwaseong-si,
KR), Shin; Jae Hee (Suwon-si, KR), Park;
Young Jin (Suwon-si, KR), Im; Dae Seong
(Yongin-si, KR), Bae; Sung Min (Seongnam-si,
KR), Kwon; Se Chang (Seoul, KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Song; Dae Hae
Shin; Jae Hee
Park; Young Jin
Im; Dae Seong
Bae; Sung Min
Kwon; Se Chang |
Hwaseong-si
Suwon-si
Suwon-si
Yongin-si
Seongnam-si
Seoul |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
KR
KR
KR
KR
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
HANMI SCIENCE CO., LTD.
(Hwaseong-si, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
44712809 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/638,786 |
Filed: |
April 4, 2011 |
PCT
Filed: |
April 04, 2011 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/KR2011/002331 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
October 01, 2012 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2011/122921 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
October 06, 2011 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130028918 A1 |
Jan 31, 2013 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Apr 2, 2010 [KR] |
|
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10-2010-0030575 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61P
3/10 (20180101); A61K 47/6883 (20170801); A61K
47/68 (20170801); A61K 38/28 (20130101); C07K
14/62 (20130101); C07K 2319/30 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
C07K
14/62 (20060101); A61K 47/48 (20060101); A61K
38/28 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;514/303 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1133598 |
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1723219 |
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101646451 |
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201004649 |
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95/07931 |
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WO |
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2009/152128 |
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WO |
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2010/011096 |
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Jan 2010 |
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WO |
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2011/122921 |
|
Oct 2011 |
|
WO |
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2011/122921 |
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Oct 2011 |
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WO |
|
Other References
Harris et al., Nature 2: 214-221, 2003. cited by examiner .
International Searching Authority, International Search Report for
PCT/KR2011/002331 dated Dec. 21, 2011. cited by applicant .
International Searching Authority, Written Opinion for
PCT/KR2011/002331 dated Dec. 21, 2011. cited by applicant .
Hinds et al., "Effects of PEG Conjugation on Insulin Properties,"
Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2002, vol. 54, pp. 505-530. cited
by applicant .
Korean Patent Office, Korean Office Action issued in corresponding
KR Application No. 10-2011-0030868, dated Feb. 22, 2013. cited by
applicant .
Japanese Patent Office, Office Action dated Jun. 3, 2014 in
corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-502499. cited by
applicant .
Taiwanese Patent Office, Office Action dated Apr. 17, 2014, in
corresponding Taiwanese Patent Application No. 100111784. cited by
applicant .
State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of
China, Office Action dated Apr. 4, 2014 in corresponding Chinese
Patent Application No. 201180022035.X. cited by applicant .
European Patent Office, Communication dated Jan. 24, 2014, issued
in corresponding European Application No. 11763093.9. cited by
applicant .
Russian Patent Office, Communication dated Oct. 16, 2013, issued in
corresponding Russian Application No. 2012146663/15(074998). cited
by applicant .
Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, Communication dated
Sep. 30, 2013, issued in corresponding Malaysian Application No. PI
2012004365. cited by applicant .
State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of
China, Communication dated Jul. 22, 2013, issued in corresponding
Chinese Application No. 201180022035.X. cited by applicant .
Taiwanese Patent Office, Communication dated Jul. 18, 2013, issued
in corresponding Taiwanese Application No. 100111784. cited by
applicant .
Mexico Patent Office, Communication dated Apr. 14, 2015, issued in
corresponding Mexican Application No. MX/a/2012/011384. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Chandra; Gyan
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue Mion, PLLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An insulin conjugate prepared by linking insulin with an
immunoglobulin Fc region via a non-peptidyl polymer, in which the
non-peptidyl polymer is linked to the phenylalanine at position 1
of amino terminal of beta chain of insulin, wherein the
non-peptidyl polymer is polyethylene glycol and has a molecular
weight in the range of 5 to 100 kDa, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc
region consists of an immunoglobulin G4 Fc region, and wherein the
insulin conjugate has an improved in vivo duration, stability and
extended hypoglycemic effect compared to the insulin, and the
insulin conjugate maintains in vivo activity of insulin.
2. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein the insulin
is native insulin, or a variant, derivative, or fragment thereof
that is prepared by any one method of substitution, addition,
deletion, and modification or combinations thereof in amino acids
of native insulin.
3. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein each end of
the non-peptidyl polymer is linked to an amine group or thiol group
of the immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin.
4. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein the
immunoglobulin Fc region is aglycosylated.
5. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein the
immunoglobulin G4 Fc region is composed of one to four domains
selected from the group consisting of CH1, CH2, CH3 and CH4 domains
of immunoglobulin G4.
6. The insulin conjugate according to claim 5, wherein the
immunoglobulin Fc region further comprises a hinge region.
7. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein the
immunoglobulin G4 Fc region is a human aglycosylated IgG4 Fc
region.
8. The insulin conjugate according to claim 1, wherein the reactive
group of the non-peptidyl polymer is selected from the group
consisting of an aldehyde group, a propionaldehyde group, a
butyraldehyde group, a maleimide group, and a succinimide
derivative.
9. The insulin conjugate according to claim 8, wherein the
succinimide derivative is succinimidyl propionate, succinimidyl
carboxymethyl, hydroxy succinimidyl, or succinimidyl carbonate.
10. The insulin conjugate according to claim 8, wherein the
non-peptidyl polymer has a reactive aldehyde group at both
ends.
11. A long-acting insulin formulation having improved in vivo
duration and stability, comprising the insulin conjugate of claim
1.
12. The long-acting insulin formulation according to claim 11,
wherein the formulation is used for the treatment of diabetes.
13. A method for treating a subject having an insulin-deficiency
disorder, the method comprising of administering to the subject an
effective amount of the long-acting formulation of claim 11.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the
insulin-deficiency disorder is diabetes.
15. A method for preparing the insulin conjugate of claim 1,
comprising the steps of: (1) covalently linking a non-peptidyl
polymer having a reactive group of aldehyde, maleimide, or
succinimide derivatives at each end thereof, with an amine group or
thiol group of an immunoglobulin Fc region; (2) isolating a
conjugate from the reaction mixture of (1), wherein the conjugate
comprises the immunoglobulin Fc region covalently linked with the
non-peptidyl polymer; and (3) covalently linking insulin to the
other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the isolated conjugate to
produce a peptide conjugate comprising the immunoglobulin Fc region
and insulin that are linked to each end of the non-peptidyl
polymer, wherein the non-peptidyl polymer is polyethylene glycol
and has a molecular weight in the range of 5 to 100 kDa, wherein
the immunoglobulin Fc region consists of an immunoglobulin G4 Fc
region.
16. A method for preparing the insulin conjugate of claim 1,
comprising the steps of: (1) covalently linking a non-peptidyl
polymer having an aldehyde reactive group at each end thereof to
the N-terminus of an immunoglobulin Fc at pH 6.0; (2) isolating a
conjugate from the reaction mixture of (1), wherein the conjugate
comprises the immunoglobulin Fc region covalently linked with the
non-peptidyl polymer at its N-terminus; and (3) covalently linking
insulin to the other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the
isolated conjugate to produce a peptide conjugate comprising the
immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin that are linked to each end of
the non-peptidyl polymer, wherein the non-peptidyl polymer is
polyethylene glycol and has a molecular weight in the range of 5 to
100 kDa, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc region consists of an
immunoglobulin G4 Fc region.
17. A method for preparing the insulin conjugate of claim 1,
comprising the steps of: (1) covalently linking a non-peptidyl
polymer having a reactive group of aldehyde, maleimide, or
succinimide derivatives at each end thereof, with an amine group or
thiol group of insulin; (2) isolating a conjugate from the reaction
mixture of (1), wherein the conjugate comprises insulin covalently
linked with the non-peptidyl polymer; and (3) covalently linking an
immunoglobulin Fc region to the other end of the non-peptidyl
polymer of the isolated conjugate to produce a peptide conjugate
comprising the immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin that are linked
to each end of the non-peptidyl polymer, wherein the non-peptidyl
polymer is polyethylene glycol and has a molecular weight in the
range of 5 to 100 kDa, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc region
consists of an immunoglobulin G4 Fc region.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a National Stage of International Application
No. PCT/KR2011/002331, filed on Apr. 4, 2011, which claims priority
from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0030575 filed on Apr. 2,
2010, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an insulin conjugate having
improved in vivo duration and stability, which is prepared by
covalently linking insulin with an immunoglobulin Fc region via a
non-peptidyl polymer, a long-acting formulation comprising the
same, and a preparation method thereof. The invention provides
method for treating in a subject having a insulin-deficiency
disorder, such as diabetes. The insulin conjugate of the present
invention maintains in vivo activity of the peptide at a relatively
high level and remarkably increases the serum half-life thereof,
thereby greatly improving drug compliance upon insulin
treatment.
BACKGROUND ART
Insulin, a peptide secreted by the pancreatic beta cells, plays a
central role in the control of blood glucose levels in the body.
When insulin is not properly secreted or the secreted insulin does
not work in the body, the blood glucose level is not regulated, and
thus diabetes occurs. This diabetes is called type II diabetes.
Type I diabetes is caused when the pancreas does not make enough
insulin to increase the blood glucose level.
Type II diabetes is usually treated with oral hypoglycemic agents
chemically synthesized, and in some cases, patients are treated
with insulin. Meanwhile, type I diabetes requires insulin
treatment.
The insulin treatment method currently used is injection of insulin
before/after meals. However, such insulin injection should be
continuously administered three times per day, which causes pain or
discomfort to the patients. There have been various attempts to
overcome the problem. One of them is a method of delivering a
peptide drug via oral or nasal inhalation by improving its membrane
permeability. Undesirably, the method showed very low delivery
efficiency, compared to the injectable formulations, and thus there
are still many difficulties in maintaining in vivo activity of the
peptide drug at the required level.
Meanwhile, there was a method of delaying drug absorption after a
subcutaneous injection of a large amount of the drug, so as to
maintain the blood level by only one daily injection. Some of the
developed drugs (Lantus, Sanofi-aventis) were approved, and are now
used for the patients. In addition, studies have been conducted to
prolong the action, leading to development of Levemir (Novo
Nordisk) prepared by modification of insulin with fatty acid, in
which the protracted action occurs through self-association of
insulin molecules at the site of injection and through reversible
binding to albumin in the blood. However, these methods generate
pains at the site of injection, and the daily injections also cause
considerable discomfort to the patient.
Many efforts have been made to improve the serum stability of
peptide drugs and maintain the drugs in the blood at high levels
for a prolonged period of time, thereby maximizing the
pharmaceutical efficacy of the drugs. These long-acting
formulations of peptide drugs need to increase the stability of the
peptide drugs and maintain the titers at sufficiently high levels
without causing immune responses in patients. For the preparation
of the long-acting formulations of peptide drugs, a polymer having
high solubility, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), was
conventionally used to chemically modify the surface of a peptide
drug.
PEG non-specifically binds to a specific site or various sites of a
target peptide to give an effect of increasing the molecular weight
of a peptide, and thus inhibiting the loss by the kidney, and
preventing hydrolysis, without causing any side-effects. For
example, WO 2006/076471 describes that a B-type natriuretic peptide
(BNP), which binds to NPR-A to activate the production of cGMP and
leads to reduction in the arterial blood pressure, and as a result,
is used as a congestive heart failure therapeutic agent, is linked
to PEG, thereby sustaining its physiological activity. U.S. Pat.
No. 6,924,264 describes that PEG binds to the lysine residue of an
exendin-4 to increase its in-vivo residence time. This method
increases the molecular weight of PEG, and thus increases the
in-vivo residence time of the peptide drug. However, as the
molecular weight is increased, the titer of the peptide drug is
remarkably reduced, and the reactivity with the peptide is also
reduced. Accordingly, it undesirably lowers the yield.
WO 02/46227 describes a fusion protein prepared by coupling GLP-1,
an exendin-4, or an analog thereof with human serum albumin or an
immunoglobulin fragment (Fc) using a genetic recombination
technology. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,480 describes an Fc fusion protein
prepared by coupling a parathyroid hormone (PTH) and an analog
thereof with Fc region. These methods can address the problems such
as low pegylation yield and non-specificity, but they still have a
problem in that the effect of increasing the blood half-life is not
as noticeable as expected, and in some cases, the titers are also
low. In order to maximize the effect of increasing the blood
half-life, various kinds of peptide linkers have been used, but
there is a possibility of causing an immune response. Further, if a
peptide having disulfide bonds, such as BNP, is used, there is a
high probability of misfolding, and if a peptide having
non-naturally occurring amino acid residues is used, it can be
produced by genetic recombination only with great difficulty.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
In this regard, leading to the present invention, intensive and
thorough research into the development of a method capable of
simultaneously maximizing the serum half-life and in vivo activity
of insulin has been undergone, resulted in the finding that an
immunoglobulin Fc region, a non-peptidyl polymer, and insulin are
site-selectively linked to each other by a covalent bond, thereby
remarkably increasing the serum half-life, compared to the known
inframe fusion method.
Technical Solution
It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent
insulin conjugate that maintains in vivo activity of insulin and
remarkably prolongs the serum half-life thereof, a long-acting
formulation comprising the same, and a preparation method
thereof.
Advantageous Effects
The insulin conjugate of the present invention maintains in vivo
activity of peptide at a relatively high level and remarkably
increases the serum half-life thereof, thereby greatly improving
drug compliance of patients in need of insulin treatment.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is the result of pharmacokinetic analysis of
insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugate;
FIG. 2 is the result of comparing in vivo efficacies between
insulin derivative-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugates; and
FIG. 3 is the result of analyzing 90% or more pegylation at
phenylalanine (B1F) of the beta chain of insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin
Fc conjugate using a size exclusion column.
FIGS. 4a to 4c are the result of analyzing the beta chain-specific
binding of insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugate.
BEST MODE
In one aspect to achieve the above objects, the present invention
provides an insulin conjugate that is prepared by linking insulin
with an immunoglobulin Fc region via a non-peptidyl polymer, in
which the non-peptidyl polymer is linked to the amino terminus of
the beta chain of insulin.
In the present invention, insulin is a peptide that is secreted by
the pancreas in response to elevated glucose levels in the blood to
take up glucose in the liver, muscle, or adipose tissue and turn it
into glycogen, and to stop the use of fat as an energy source, and
thus functions to control the blood glucose level. This peptide
includes agonists, precursors, derivatives, fragments, and variants
thereof, and preferably native, short-acting, or long-acting
insulin.
Native insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas to
promote glucose absorption and inhibit fat breakdown, and thus
functions to control the blood glucose level. Insulin is formed
from a precursor having no function of regulating the blood glucose
level, known as proinsulin, through processing. The amino acid
sequences of insulin are as follows:
TABLE-US-00001 Alpha chain: (SEQ ID NO. 1)
Gly-Ile-Val-Glu-Gln-Cys-Cys-Thr-Ser-Ile-Cys-Ser-
Leu-Tyr-Gln-Leu-Glu-Asn-Tyr-Cys-Asn Beta chain: (SEQ ID NO. 2)
Phe-Val-Asn-Gln-His-Leu-Cys-Gly-Ser-His-Leu-Val-
Glu-Ala-Leu-Tyr-Leu-Val-Cys-Gly-Glu-Arg-Gly-Phe-
Phe-Tyr-Thr-Pro-Lys-Thr
The insulin agonist means a compound that binds to the insulin
receptor to show the biological activity equal to that of insulin,
which is irrelevant to the structure of insulin.
The insulin derivative means a peptide having at least 80% amino
acid sequence homology with the native insulin, which may have some
groups on the amino acid residue chemically substituted (e.g.,
alpha-methylation, alpha-hydroxylation), deleted (e.g.,
deamination), or modified (e.g., N-methylation), and has a function
of regulating the blood glucose level in the body.
The insulin fragment means a fragment having one or more amino
acids added or deleted at the N-terminus or the C-terminus of the
native insulin, in which non-naturally occurring amino acids (for
example, D-type amino acid) can be added, and has a function of
regulating the blood glucose level in the body.
The insulin variant means a peptide having one or more amino acid
sequence different from that of the native insulin, and having a
function of regulating the blood glucose level in the body.
Each of the preparation methods for the agonists, derivatives,
fragments, and variants of insulin can be used individually or in
combination. For example, the present invention includes a peptide
that has one or more amino acids different from those of native
peptide and deamination of the N-terminal amino acid residue, and
has a function of regulating the blood glucose level in the
body.
In a specific embodiment, the insulin used in the present invention
may be produced by a recombination technology, and may be also
synthesized using a solid phase synthesis method.
Further, the insulin used in the present invention is characterized
in that a non-peptidyl polymer is linked to the amino terminus of
the beta chain of insulin. This non-peptidyl polymer is used as a
linker in the present invention. The modification in the alpha
chain of insulin leads to a reduction in the activity and safety.
In the present invention, therefore, the non-peptidyl polymer as a
linker is linked to the amino terminus of beta chain of insulin, so
as to maintain the insulin activity and improve safety.
The term "activity", as used herein, means the ability of insulin
to bind to the insulin receptor, and means that insulin exhibits
its action through binding to insulin receptor.
Such binding of non-peptidyl polymer to the amino terminus of beta
chain of insulin can be achieved by pH control, and preferably, in
the range from 4.5 to 7.5.
The term "N-terminus", as used herein, can be used interchangeably
with "N-terminal region".
In one specific Example, the present inventors prepared an
insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugate by linking PEG to the
N-terminus of an immunoglobulin Fc region, and selectively coupling
the N-terminus of the beta chain of insulin thereto. The serum
half-life of the insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugate prepared
in the present invention was remarkably increased to approximately
18 hrs, and it showed a hypoglycemic effect in disease animal
models. Therefore, a new long-acting insulin formulation that
maintains in vivo activity of insulin can be prepared.
The immunoglobulin Fc region is safe for use as a drug carrier
because it is a biodegradable polypeptide that is in vivo
metabolized. Also, the immunoglobulin Fc region has a relatively
low molecular weight, as compared to the whole immunoglobulin
molecules, and thus, it is advantageous in the preparation,
purification and yield of the conjugate. The immunoglobulin Fc
region does not contain a Fab fragment, which is highly
non-homogenous due to different amino acid sequences according to
the antibody subclasses, and thus it can be expected that the
immunoglobulin Fc region may greatly increase the homogeneity of
substances and be less antigenic.
The term "immunoglobulin Fc region", as used herein, refers to a
protein that contains the heavy-chain constant region 2 (CH2) and
the heavy-chain constant region 3 (CH3) of an immunoglobulin,
excluding the variable regions of the heavy and light chains, the
heavy-chain constant region 1 (CH1) and the light-chain constant
region 1 (CL1) of the immunoglobulin. It may further include a
hinge region at the heavy-chain constant region. Also, the
immunoglobulin Fc region of the present invention may contain a
part or all of the Fc region including the heavy-chain constant
region 1 (CH1) and/or the light-chain constant region 1 (CL1),
except for the variable regions of the heavy and light chains, as
long as it has a physiological function substantially similar to or
better than the native protein. Also, it may be a fragment having a
deletion in a relatively long portion of the amino acid sequence of
CH2 and/or CH3. That is, the immunoglobulin Fc region of the
present invention may comprise 1) a CH1 domain, a CH2 domain, a CH3
domain and a CH4 domain, 2) a CH1 domain and a CH2 domain, 3) a CH1
domain and a CH3 domain, 4) a CH2 domain and a CH3 domain, 5) a
combination of one or more domains and an immunoglobulin hinge
region (or a portion of the hinge region), and 6) a dimer of each
domain of the heavy-chain constant regions and the light-chain
constant region.
Further, the immunoglobulin Fc region of the present invention
includes a sequence derivative (mutant) thereof as well as a native
amino acid sequence. An amino acid sequence derivative has a
sequence that is different from the native amino acid sequence due
to a deletion, an insertion, a non-conservative or conservative
substitution or combinations thereof of one or more amino acid
residues. For example, in an IgG Fc, amino acid residues known to
be important in binding, at positions 214 to 238, 297 to 299, 318
to 322, or 327 to 331, may be used as a suitable target for
modification. In addition, other various derivatives are possible,
including derivatives having a deletion of a region capable of
forming a disulfide bond, a deletion of several amino acid residues
at the N-terminus of a native Fc form, or an addition of methionine
residue to the N-terminus of a native Fc form. Furthermore, to
remove effector functions, a deletion may occur in a
complement-binding site, such as a C1q-binding site and an ADCC
site. Techniques of preparing such sequence derivatives of the
immunoglobulin Fc region are disclosed in WO 97/34631 and WO
96/32478.
Amino acid exchanges in proteins and peptides, which do not
generally alter the activity of molecules, are known in the art (H.
Neurath, R. L. Hill, The Proteins, Academic Press, New York, 197
9). The most commonly occurring exchanges are Ala/Ser, Val/Ile,
Asp/Glu, Thr/Ser, Ala/Gly, Ala/Thr, Ser/Asn, Ala/Val, Ser/Gly,
Thy/Phe, Ala/Pro, Lys/Arg, Asp/Asn, Leu/Ile, Leu/Val, Ala/Glu, and
Asp/Gly, in both directions.
The Fc region, if desired, may be modified by phosphorylation,
sulfation, acrylation, glycosylation, methylation, farnesylation,
acetylation, amidation, and the like.
The aforementioned Fc derivatives are derivatives that have a
biological activity identical to that of the Fc region of the
present invention or improved structural stability, for example,
against heat, pH, or the like.
In addition, these Fc regions may be obtained from native forms
isolated from humans and other animals including cows, goats,
swine, mice, rabbits, hamsters, rats and guinea pigs, or may be
recombinants or derivatives thereof, obtained from transformed
animal cells or microorganisms. Herein, they may be obtained from a
native immunoglobulin by isolating whole immunoglobulins from human
or animal organisms and treating them with a proteolytic enzyme.
Papain digests the native immunoglobulin into Fab and Fc regions,
and pepsin treatment results in the production of pF'c and F(ab)2
fragments. These fragments may be subjected, for example, to
size-exclusion chromatography to isolate Fc or pF'c.
Preferably, a human-derived Fc region is a recombinant
immunoglobulin Fc region that is obtained from a microorganism.
In addition, the immunoglobulin Fc region of the present invention
may be in the form of having native sugar chains, increased sugar
chains compared to a native form or decreased sugar chains compared
to the native form, or may be in a deglycosylated form. The
increase, decrease or removal of the immunoglobulin Fc sugar chains
may be achieved by methods common in the art, such as a chemical
method, an enzymatic method and a genetic engineering method using
a microorganism. The removal of sugar chains from an Fc region
results in a sharp decrease in binding affinity to the complement
(c1q) and a decrease or loss in antibody-dependent cell-mediated
cytotoxicity or complement-dependent cytotoxicity, thereby not
inducing unnecessary immune responses in-vivo. In this regard, an
immunoglobulin Fc region in a deglycosylated or aglycosylated form
may be more suitable to the object of the present invention as a
drug carrier.
The term "deglycosylation", as used herein, means to enzymatically
remove sugar moieties from an Fc region, and the term
"aglycosylation" means that an Fc region is produced in an
unglycosylated form by a prokaryote, preferably E. coli.
In addition, the immunoglobulin Fc region may be an Fc region that
is derived from IgG, IgA, IgD, IgE and IgM, or that is made by
combinations thereof or hybrids thereof. Preferably, it is derived
from IgG or IgM, which is among the most abundant proteins in the
human blood, and most preferably from IgG, which is known to
enhance the half-life of ligand-binding proteins.
The term "combination", as used herein, means that polypeptides
encoding single-chain immunoglobulin Fc regions of the same origin
are linked to a single-chain polypeptide of a different origin to
form a dimer or multimer. That is, a dimer or multimer may be
formed from two or more fragments selected from the group
consisting of IgG Fc, IgA Fc, IgM Fc, IgD Fc, and IgE Fc
fragments.
The term "hybrid", as used herein, means that sequences encoding
two or more immunoglobulin Fc regions of different origin are
present in a single-chain immunoglobulin Fc region. In the present
invention, various types of hybrids are possible. That is, domain
hybrids may be composed of one to four domains selected from the
group consisting of CH1, CH2, CH3 and CH4 of IgG Fc, IgM Fc, IgA
Fc, IgE Fc and IgD Fc, and may include the hinge region.
On the other hand, IgG is divided into IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4
subclasses, and the present invention includes combinations or
hybrids thereof. Preferred are IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses, and most
preferred is the Fc region of IgG4 rarely having effector functions
such as CDC (complement dependent cytotoxicity).
As the drug carrier of the present invention, the most preferable
immunoglobulin Fc region is a human IgG4-derived non-glycosylated
Fc region. The human-derived Fc region is more preferable than a
non-human derived Fc region, which may act as an antigen in the
human body and cause undesirable immune responses such as the
production of a new antibody against the antigen.
The term "non-peptidyl polymer", as used herein, refers to a
biocompatible polymer including two or more repeating units linked
to each other by any covalent bond excluding a peptide bond.
The non-peptidyl polymer which can be used in the present invention
may be selected form the group consisting of polyethylene glycol,
polypropylene glycol, copolymers of ethylene glycol and propylene
glycol, polyoxyethylated polyols, polyvinyl alcohol,
polysaccharides, dextran, polyvinyl ethyl ether, biodegradable
polymers such as PLA (poly(lactic acid)) and PLGA
(polylactic-glycolic acid), lipid polymers, chitins, hyaluronic
acid, and combinations thereof, and preferably, polyethylene
glycol. The derivatives thereof well known in the art and being
easily prepared within the skill of the art are also included in
the scope of the present invention.
The peptide linker which is used in the fusion protein obtained by
a conventional inframe fusion method has drawbacks in that it is
easily in-vivo cleaved by a proteolytic enzyme, and thus a
sufficient effect of increasing the serum half-life of the active
drug by a carrier cannot be obtained as expected. However, in the
present invention, the polymer having resistance to the proteolytic
enzyme can be used to maintain the serum half-life of the peptide
being similar to that of the carrier. Therefore, any non-peptidyl
polymer can be used without any limitation, as long as it is a
polymer having the aforementioned function, that is, a polymer
having resistance to the in-vivo proteolytic enzyme. The
non-peptidyl polymer has a molecular weight in the range of 1 to
100 kDa, and preferably of 1 to 20 kDa. The non-peptidyl polymer of
the present invention, linked to the immunoglobulin Fc region, may
be one polymer or a combination of different types of polymers.
The non-peptidyl polymer used in the present invention has a
reactive group capable of binding to the immunoglobulin Fc region
and protein drug.
The non-peptidyl polymer has a reactive group at both ends, which
is preferably selected from the group consisting of a reactive
aldehyde group, a propionaldehyde group, a butyraldehyde group, a
maleimide group and a succinimide derivative. The succinimide
derivative may be succinimidyl propionate, hydroxy succinimidyl,
succinimidyl carboxymethyl, or succinimidyl carbonate. In
particular, when the non-peptidyl polymer has a reactive aldehyde
group at both ends thereof, it is effective in linking at both ends
with a physiologically active polypeptide and an immunoglobulin
with minimal non-specific reactions. A final product generated by
reductive alkylation by an aldehyde bond is much more stable than
that linked by an amide bond. The aldehyde reactive group
selectively binds to an N-terminus at a low pH, and binds to a
lysine residue to form a covalent bond at a high pH, such as pH
9.0.
The reactive groups at both ends of the non-peptidyl polymer may be
the same or different. For example, the non-peptide polymer may
possess a maleimide group at one end, and an aldehyde group, a
propionaldehyde group or a butyraldehyde group at the other end.
When a polyethylene glycol having a reactive hydroxy group at both
ends thereof is used as the non-peptidyl polymer, the hydroxy group
may be activated to various reactive groups by known chemical
reactions, or a polyethylene glycol having a commercially available
modified reactive group may be used so as to prepare the protein
conjugate of the present invention.
In another aspect of the present invention, the present invention
provides a long-acting insulin formulation comprising the insulin
conjugate of the present invention.
The term "administration", as used herein, means introduction of a
predetermined amount of a substance into a patient by a certain
suitable method. The conjugate may be administered via any of the
common routes, as long as it is able to reach a desired tissue. A
variety of modes of administration are contemplated, including
intraperitoneally, intravenously, intramuscularly, subcutaneously,
intradermally, orally, topically, intranasally, intrapulmonarily
and intrarectally, but the present invention is not limited to
these exemplified modes of administration. However, since peptides
are digested upon oral administration, active ingredients of a
composition for oral administration should be coated or formulated
for protection against degradation in the stomach. Preferably, the
conjugate may be administered in an injectable form. In addition,
the long-acting formulation may be administered using a certain
apparatus capable of transporting the active ingredients into a
target cell.
The long-acting formulation comprising the conjugate of the present
invention may include pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. For
oral administration, the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may
include a binder, a lubricant, a disintegrator, an excipient, a
solubilizer, a dispersing agent, a stabilizer, a suspending agent,
a coloring agent, and a perfume. For injectable preparations, the
pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may include a buffering agent,
a preserving agent, an analgesic, a solubilizer, an isotonic agent,
and a stabilizer. For preparations for topical administration, the
pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may include a base, an
excipient, a lubricant, and a preserving agent. The long-acting
formulation of the present invention may be formulated into a
variety of dosage forms in combination with the aforementioned
pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. For example, for oral
administration, the long-acting formulation may be formulated into
tablets, troches, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups or wafers.
For injectable preparations, the long-acting formulation may be
formulated into single-dose ampule or multidose container. The
long-acting formulation may be also formulated into solutions,
suspensions, tablets, pills, capsules and sustained release
preparations.
Examples of the carrier, the excipient, and the diluent suitable
for the formulations include lactose, dextrose, sucrose, sorbitol,
mannitol, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, starch, acacia rubber,
alginate, gelatin, calcium phosphate, calcium silicate, cellulose,
methylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone,
water, methylhydroxybenzoate, propylhydroxybenzoate, talc,
magnesium stearate and mineral oils. In addition, the formulations
may further include fillers, anti-coagulating agents, lubricants,
humectants, perfumes, and antiseptics.
The long-acting formulation of the present invention can be
determined by several related factors including the types of
diseases to be treated, administration routes, the patient's age,
gender, weight and severity of the illness, as well as by the types
of the drug as an active component. Since the pharmaceutical
composition of the present invention has excellent in vivo duration
and titer, it can remarkably reduce the administration frequency
and dose of pharmaceutical drugs of the present invention.
The long-acting formulation of the present invention maintains in
vivo duration and stability of insulin at a very high level, and
thus effectively used for the treatment of insulin-dependent
diabetes.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for preparing an insulin conjugate, comprising the steps of: (1)
covalently linking a non-peptidyl polymer having a reactive group
of aldehyde, maleimide, or succinimide derivatives at each end
thereof, with an amine group or thiol group of the immunoglobulin
Fc region; (2) isolating a conjugate from the reaction mixture of
(1), in which the conjugate comprises the immunoglobulin Fc region
covalently linked with the non-peptidyl polymer; and (3) covalently
linking insulin to the other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the
isolated conjugate to produce a peptide conjugate comprising the
immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin, which are linked to each end
of the non-peptidyl polymer.
Preferably, the non-peptidyl polymer of step (1) has a reactive
aldehyde derivative at the end thereof, and more preferably, three
reactive aldehyde groups.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for preparing an insulin conjugate, comprising the steps of: (1)
covalently linking a non-peptidyl polymer having an aldehyde
reactive group at each end thereof to the N-terminus of the
immunoglobulin Fc at pH 6.0; (2) isolating a conjugate from the
reaction mixture of (1), in which the conjugate comprises the
immunoglobulin Fc region covalently linked with the non-peptidyl
polymer at its N-terminus; and (3) covalently linking insulin to
the other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the isolated conjugate
to produce a peptide conjugate comprising the immunoglobulin Fc
region and insulin, which are linked to each end of the
non-peptidyl polymer.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for preparing an insulin conjugate, comprising the steps of: (1)
covalently linking a non-peptidyl polymer having a reactive group
of aldehyde, maleimide, or succinimide derivatives at each end
thereof, with an amine group or thiol group of insulin; (2)
isolating a conjugate from the reaction mixture of (1), in which
the conjugate comprises insulin covalently linked with the
non-peptidyl polymer; and (3) covalently linking an immunoglobulin
Fc region to the other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the
isolated conjugate to produce a peptide conjugate comprising the
immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin, which are linked to each end
of the non-peptidyl polymer.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for preparing an insulin conjugate, comprising the steps of: (1)
covalently linking a non-peptidyl polymer having an aldehyde
reactive group at each end thereof with an amine group of insulin;
(2) isolating a conjugate from the reaction mixture of (1), in
which the conjugate comprises insulin covalently linked with the
non-peptidyl polymer; and (3) covalently linking an immunoglobulin
Fc region to the other end of the non-peptidyl polymer of the
isolated conjugate to produce a peptide conjugate comprising the
immunoglobulin Fc region and insulin, which are linked to each end
of the non-peptidyl polymer.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method
for treating a subject having a insulin-deficiency disorder, the
method comprising of administering to the subject an effective
amount of the long-acting formulation. Preferably, the
insulin-deficiency disorder is diabetes.
As used herein, a subject can be a mammal, for example, human, a
non-human primate, a horse, a sheep, a cat, a dog, a cow or a
pig.
MODE FOR INVENTION
Hereinafter, a better understanding of the present invention may be
obtained through the following Examples which are set forth to
illustrate, but are not to be construed as the limit of the present
invention.
Example 1
Purification of Pegylated Immunoglobulin Fc Region
For pegylation of the immunoglobulin Fc at its N-terminus, 5K
PropionALD (3) PEG (PEG having three propylaldehyde groups, NOF,
Japan) was used to perform pegylation by reacting the
immunoglobulin Fc and PEG at 4.degree. C. for 4.5 hrs and at a
molar ratio of 1:2, with an immunoglobulin Fc concentration of 10
mg/ml. At this time, the reaction was performed in a 100 mM
potassium phosphate buffer solution at pH 6.0, and 20 mM SCB
(NaCNBH.sub.3) as a reducing agent was added thereto. A
mono-PEGylated immunoglobulin Fc was purified from the reaction
solution using a Source 15Q (GE Healthcare) column.
Example 2
Preparation of Insulin-PEG-Immunoglobulin Fc Conjugate
To prepare an insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin Fc conjugate having 90% or
more pegylation at phenylalanine (B1F) of the beta chain of
insulin, the mono-PEGylated immunoglobulin Fc obtained in Example 1
and insulin were reacted at a molar ratio of 4:1 and at 4.degree.
C. for 20 hrs, with a total protein concentration of 20 mg/ml. At
this time, the reaction was performed in a 100 mM potassium
phosphate buffer solution at pH 6.0, and 20 mM SCB as a reducing
agent was added thereto. After the reaction was terminated, the
reaction solution was subjected to primary purification using a
Source 15Q column. Thereafter, secondary purification was performed
using a Source 15ISO column to obtain an insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin
Fc conjugate. A size exclusion column was used to analyze 90% or
more pegylation of B1F of the obtained insulin-PEG-immunoglobulin
Fc conjugate, and the results are shown in FIG. 3.
Example 3
Preparation of Insulin Lispro (Humalog)-PEG-Immunoglobulin Fc
Conjugate
The mono-PEGylated immunoglobulin Fc obtained in Example 1 and
insulin lispro were reacted at a molar ratio of 4:1 and at
4.degree. C. for 20 hrs, with a total protein concentration of 20
mg/ml. At this time, the reaction was performed in a 100 mM
potassium phosphate buffer solution at pH 6.0, and 20 mM SCB as a
reducing agent was added thereto. After the reaction was
terminated, purification was performed in the same manner as in
Example 2.
Example 4
Preparation of Insulin Glargine (Lantus)-PEG-Immunoglobulin Fc
Conjugate
The mono-PEGylated immunoglobulin Fc obtained in Example 1 and
insulin glargine were reacted at a molar ratio of 4:1 and at
4.degree. C. for 20 hrs, with a total protein concentration of 20
mg/ml. At this time, the reaction was performed in a 100 mM
potassium phosphate buffer solution at pH 6.0, and 20 mM SCB as a
reducing agent was added thereto. After the reaction was
terminated, purification was performed in the same manner as in
Example 2.
Example 5
Preparation of Insulin Detemir (Levemir)-PEG-Immunoglobulin Fc
Conjugate
The mono-PEGylated immunoglobulin Fc obtained in Example 1 and
insulin detemir were reacted at a molar ratio of 4:1 and at
4.degree. C. for 20 hrs, with a total protein concentration of 20
mg/ml. At this time, the reaction was performed in a 100 mM
potassium phosphate buffer solution at pH 6.0, and 20 mM SCB as a
reducing agent was added thereto. After the reaction was
terminated, purification was performed in the same manner as in
Example 2.
Example 6
Measurement of In Vivo Elimination Half-Life of Long-Acting Insulin
Conjugate
To analyze in vivo duration of the long-acting insulin conjugate,
normal male SD rats were used to perform pharmacokinetic analysis.
Normal male SD rats were subcutaneously injected with native
insulin and the long-acting insulin conjugate at a dose of 100
.mu.g/kg (based on insulin) once, and then time-dependent changes
in serum level were measured using an ELISA kit, and
pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated from the measured values
using Winnolin 5.2 software. The in vivo elimination half-life of
the long-acting insulin conjugate was 17.67 hrs, which is about
30-fold longer than the native insulin of 0.58 hrs (FIG. 1).
Example 7
In Vivo Efficacy Test on Conjugate of Insulin Derivative
To compare in vivo efficacy between the conjugates of insulin
derivatives, streptozotocin-induced diabetes rats were used to
analyze their hypoglycemic effects. Normal rats were fasted for 16
hrs, and intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin in 10 mM
citric acid buffer solution (pH 4.5) at a dose of 60 mg/kg to
induce diabetes. When the blood glucose level of the rats reached
to 500 mg/dL or higher, the rats were subcutaneously injected with
the insulin conjugate, the insulin detemir conjugate, or the
insulin lispro conjugate at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg once, and then
their hypoglycemic effects were compared. The hypoglycemic effects
of the insulin conjugate and the insulin lispro conjugate
maintained for about 4 days after injection, and 5 days after
injection, the blood glucose level increased. The insulin detemir
conjugate also showed the hypoglycemic effects, but the effects
were lower than those of insulin conjugate or insulin lispro
conjugate at an equal dose (FIG. 2).
Example 8
Identification of Binding Site of Insulin-5 K PEG-Immunoglobulin Fc
Conjugate
In order to identify the binding site of insulin to 5 K
PEG-immunoglobulin Fc, Glu-C mapping was performed. 20 .mu.g of
endoproteinase Glu-C (1 mg/ml) was added to 100 .mu.g of insulin-5
K PEG-immunoglobulin Fc (1 mg/ml). The reaction solution was 50 mM
HEPES at pH 7.5, and the mixture was reacted at 25.degree. C. for 8
hrs. Subsequently, 10 .mu.l of 1 N HCL was added to terminate the
reaction. Mapping was performed by reverse HPLC chromatography. The
results showed the peak change in the N-terminus of beta chain of
insulin, indicating that 5 K PEG-immunoglobulin Fc binds to the
N-terminus of beta chain of insulin (FIGS. 4a-c).
Column: Jupiter C18 4.6.times.250 mm, 5 .mu.m (Phenomenex)
Mobile phase A: 20% 0.1 M NaSO4 (pH 2.0), 10% CAN
Mobile phase B: 20% 0.1 M NaSO4 (pH 2.0), 40% CAN
Gradient 0% B in 10 min>0-10% B in 5 min>10-70% B in 60
min
SEQUENCE LISTINGS
1
2121PRTHomo sapiens 1Gly Ile Val Glu Gln Cys Cys Thr Ser Ile Cys
Ser Leu Tyr Gln Leu 1 5 10 15 Glu Asn Tyr Cys Asn 20 230PRTHomo
sapiens 2Phe Val Asn Gln His Leu Cys Gly Ser His Leu Val Glu Ala
Leu Tyr 1 5 10 15 Leu Val Cys Gly Glu Arg Gly Phe Phe Tyr Thr Pro
Lys Thr 20 25 30
* * * * *